Francisco Pelegri has studied early animal development for over 30 years, joining the faculty at the Departments of Genetics and Medical Genetics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1999. His laboratory studies the zebrafish and its relative species as a model system to understand fundamental principles of animal embryology and develop new tools in conservation genetics. He explores the integration of interdisciplinary methods, undergraduate and graduate education, and field studies toward the preservation of animal species.